Prior racks have been adapted for installation on the cargo box of a pickup truck for utility purposes. These pickup truck racks have upright members secured to the side wall of the truck box that support longitudinal members and cross members extending between the tops of the upright members. Examples of these pickup truck racks are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,566, issued Aug. 2, 1960, to P. Tower, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,170, issued Sept. 20, 1983, to R. Raya. These racks have telescoping tubular frame members that lock together.
Joiner devices interconnect the tubular frame members. An example of a joiner device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,947,566, issued Aug. 2, 1960, to P. Tower. This joiner device is an elongated tube telescoped over adjacent ends of the frame members of a pickup truck. Nut and bolt assemblies are used to connect the joiner device to the adjacent frame members.
A majority of prior pickup truck racks have been difficult to install, cumbersome to remove, and expensive to construct. Further, these racks have interfered with the use of and accessibility to the box area of the truck. Oftentimes, the truck driver's view through the rear window of the truck is obstructed by the racks.
The prior joiner devices for pickup truck racks have been difficult to use, cumbersome to remove, and expensive to construct. Further, these joiner devices have exposed parts that may interfere with the use of the rack. These joiner devices are also susceptible to exposure damage, and wear.